Dispenser for plastic film wrap

ABSTRACT

A dispenser device for sheet material comprising a housing adapted to be fastened to a mounting surface, means in said housing to rotatably support a roll of said sheet material, a lid articulated to the upper portion of said housing, a dispensing slit disposed in said lid adjacent to said mounting surface, and a cutting means disposed on the front surface of said lid a predetermined distance from said slit, said predetermined distance being defined by a portion of said lid that is in the same horizontal plane as said slit for at least half of said predetermined distance and that is arcuate from said horizontal plane to said cutting means to facilitate guiding whereby said sheet material is supported from said dispensing slit to said cutting means.

United States Patent [191 Jamois et at.

[ DISPENSER FOR PLASTIC FILM WRAP [75} lnventors: Gerard Jamois, Nogent sur Marne;

Sylvain Bluntz, Paris, both of France [73] Assignee: Colgate-Palmolive Company, New

York, NY.

[22] Filed: Feb. 7, 1974 [21] Appl. No.1 440,588

[ July 8,1975

Primary Examiner-J. M. Meister Assistant Examiner-Leon Gilden Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Herbert S. Sylvester; Murray M. Grill; Kenneth A. Koch 5 7 1 ABSTRACT A dispenser device for sheet material comprising a housing adapted to be fastened to a mounting surface, means in said housing to rotatabiy support a roll of said sheet material, a lid articulated to the upper portion of said housing, a dispensing slit disposed in said lid adjacent to said mounting surface, and a cutting means disposed on the front surface of said lid a predetermined distance from said slit, said predetermined distance being defined by a portion of said lid that is in the same horizontal plane as said slit for at least half of said predetermined distance and that is arcuate from said horizontal plane to said cutting means to facilitate guiding whereby said sheet material is supported from said dispensing slit to said cutting means.

1 Claim, 1 Drawing Figure 1 DISPENSER FOR PLASTIC FILM WRAI The present invention relates to dispenser devices permitting the withdrawal and cutting of material into sheets from a roll.

Already known in the art are such devices including a support adapted to be fastened on a wall or other mounting surface, means for rotatably supporting the roll on which the material to be withdrawn and severed is located, a lid articulated around an axis on the support and defining with the latter a slit across which the material to be uncoiled and withdrawn can pass through, cutting means generally formed by a row of teeth placed along this slit and allowing a length of the sheet material to be cut off after having been withdrawn from the dispenser.

The known devices of this type present some disadvantages among which the following are noted: the

margin of the sheet of material to be dispensed is present after each cutting operation at the slit from which it is to be dispensed, so that the user experiences difficulties in taking hold of the margin of this sheet when wishing to withdraw and cut a new length from the same. This is in general shown by jamming of the roll or even laceration or a rupture of the material, when the latter is formed of normal paper or aluminum foil.

The aim of the invention is to provide a device which minimizes the foregoing disadvantages. To this end, it has for its object a dispensing device comprising a housing adapted to be fastened on a mounting surface support means in this housing to support a roll of the material to be dispensed, a lid hingedly connected to the housing, a slit across which the material to be dispensed can pass and cutting means for severing any desired amount of this material, this device being characterized by the fact that the slit across which the sheet is withdrawn from the housing is disposed a certain distance to the rear of the cutting means, in a way so that outside of the enclosure formed by the housing and the lid, there is always present a certain length of material which facilitates gripping of the latter for further dispensing.

According to another characteristic of the invention the dispensing slit is disposed in the proximity of the mounting surface of the housing and in the proximity of the axis about which the lid is hinged on the housing and wherein the cutting means is located in the proximity of the frontal face of the lid.

In other respects, the lid comprises between the slit and the cutting means a portion which is initially almost horizontal then exteriorly convex toward the base in a way so as to facilitate guiding of the sheet of material to be cut.

Finally it can be noted that the housing is ofa generally cylindrical form and is practically entirely closed in its visible part.

The invention will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawing whose sole FIGURE is a view in perspective of a tearoff dispenser device according to the invention.

In this drawing one can see a dispenser device allowing a material I to be withdrawn and cut into sheets from a roll 2.

This device comprises a housing and a lid 20 articulated to each other around an axis X-X. The housing and lid are typically of molded plastic material.

The housing 10 comprises a face 11 for fastening on a mounting surfacesu'ch as a wall or a partition. The face "11 is almost vertical in use and comprises apertures '11a for passage of fastening means such as screws. The bottom of the housing is defined by a wall 12 of almost hemicylindrical form made up by two end walls 13 which include extensions 14 having apertures 15 through which hinge pins pass to join the lid 20 to the housing.

Two projections 16 defining a horizontal surface 17 are integrally cast with the housing and allow the dispenser to support itself on a horizontal surface.

The lid 20 has likewise on the whole a hemicylindrical form made up by two end walls 21 which include flanges 22 having projections 23 which function as hinge pins and swivel in the apertures l5 ofthe housing. The lid 20 is adapted to define a longitudinal slit 24 extending the entire length of the dispenser and disposed adjacent to the vertical mounting face ll.

Disposed between the slit 24 and the cylindrical part of the lid is a flat support face 25.

The lid further includes a row of teeth-like projections 26 arranged in its frontal part i.e. on the opposite side of the support face 25 from the slit 24, and which forms the cutting means of the sheet-material. The row of teeth 20 is disposed parallel to the slit 24.

Snap means 27 can be provided for fastening the lid to the housing.

In this disclosure the term rear" indicates the part of the dispenser nearest to the mounting surface and the term fore-part the part nearest to the user.

The operation of the dispenser is as follows:

a roll 2 of the sheet material is placed inside the enclosure formed by the housing and the lid and the latter is closed and fastened to the housing. The sheet-material can then be pulled out through the slit 24 from the rear of the dispenser. In order to cut off a certain length of this sheet, the user must first exert a force on the sheet which uncoils it from the roll, and then he must exert an oblique force on the sheet in order to cause its rupture along the row of teeth 26. After tearing a desired length of sheet material off a certain length 240 of the material remains outside of the dispenser in the rearupper-part of the latter, which allows an easy gripping of the free edge of the sheet for subsequent dispensing of material.

In order to proceed with replacement of the empty roll, it is sufficient to open the lid, remove the empty roll and place a full roll while placing the free edge of the sheet in slit 24. The access to the interior of the enclosure is particularly easy and the material is fully protected for the sole slit 24 is present along the mounting surface.

The dispenser of the invention provides a remedy for the disadvantages of prior art devices of this type without being significantly more complex or costly.

It should be understood that the specific nature of the dispensed material is of little concern and the scope of the invention should not be limited to a particular application.

What is claimed is:

l. A dispenser device for sheet material comprising a housing adapted to be fastened to a mounting surface, means in said housing to rotatably support a roll of said sheet material, a lid articulated to the upper portion of said housing, a dispensing slit disposed in said lid adja cent to said mounting surface, and a cutting means diszontal plane to said cutting means to facilitate guiding, whereby said sheet material is supported from said dispensing slit to said cutting means. 

1. A dispenser device for sheet material comprising a housing adapted to be fastened to a mounting surface, means in said housing to rotatably support a roll of said sheet material, a lid articulated to the upper portion of said housing, a dispensing slit disposed in said lid adjAcent to said mounting surface, and a cutting means disposed on the front surface of said lid a predetermined distance from said slit, said predetermined distance being defined by a portion of said lid that is in the same horizontal plane as said slit for at least half of said predetermined distance and that is arcuate from said horizontal plane to said cutting means to facilitate guiding, whereby said sheet material is supported from said dispensing slit to said cutting means. 